Build Act CRM-Connected ETL Processes in Google Data Fusion

Google Data Fusion allows users to perform self-service data integration to consolidate disparate data. Uploading the CData JDBC Driver for Act CRM enables users to access live Act CRM data from within their Google Data Fusion pipelines. While the CData JDBC Driver enables piping Act CRM data to any data source natively supported in Google Data Fusion, this article walks through piping data from Act CRM to Google BigQuery,

Upload the CData JDBC Driver for Act CRM to Google Data Fusion

Upload the CData JDBC Driver for Act CRM to your Google Data Fusion instance to work with live Act CRM data. Due to the naming restrictions for JDBC drivers in Google Data Fusion, create a copy or rename the JAR file to match the following format driver-version.jar. For example: cdataactcrm-2020.jar

1. Open your Google Data Fusion instance
2. Click the to add an entity and upload a driver
3. On the "Upload driver" tab, drag or browse to the renamed JAR file.
4. On the "Driver configuration" tab:
   • Name: Create a name for the driver (cdata.jdbc.actcrm) and make note of the name
   • Class name: Set the JDBC class name: (cdata.jdbc.actcrm.ActCRMDriver)
5. Click "Finish"

Connect to Act CRM Data in Google Data Fusion

With the JDBC Driver uploaded, you are ready to work with live Act CRM data in Google Data Fusion Pipelines.

1. Navigate to the Pipeline Studio to create a new Pipeline
2. From the "Source" options, click "Database" to add a source for the JDBC Driver
3. Click "Properties" on the Database source to edit the properties

   NOTE: To use the JDBC Driver in Google Data Fusion, you will need a license (full or trial) and a Runtime Key (RTK). For more information on obtaining this license (or a trial), contact our sales team.

   • Set the Label
   • Set Reference Name to a value for any future references (i.e.: cdata-actcrm)
   • Set Plugin Type to "jdbc"
   • Set Connection String to the JDBC URL for Act CRM. For example:
     
     jdbc:actcrm:RTK=5246...;URL=https://myActCRMserver.com;User=myUser;Password=myPassword;ActDatabase=MyDB;

     The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid Act! user credentials. In addition to the authentication values, see the following:

     • Connecting to Act! Premium

       In addition to the authentication values, the URL to Act! is also required; for example https://eup1-iis-04.eu.hosted.act.com/.

       Additionally, you must specify the ActDatabase you will connect to. This is found by going to the About Act! Premium menu of your account, at the top right of the page, in the ? menu. Use the Database Name in the window that appears.

     • Connecting to Act! Premium Cloud

       To connect to your Act! Premium Cloud account, you also need to specify the ActCloudName property. This property is found in the URL address of the Cloud account; for example https://eup1-iis-04.eu.hosted.act.com/ActCloudName/.

     Note that retrieving ActCRM metadata can be expensive. It is advised that you set the CacheMetadata property to store the metadata locally.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Act CRM JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.actcrm.jar

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

   • Set Import Query to a SQL query that will extract the data you want from Act CRM, i.e.:
     SELECT * FROM Activities
4. From the "Sink" tab, click to add a destination sink (we use Google BigQuery in this example)
5. Click "Properties" on the BigQuery sink to edit the properties
   • Set the Label
   • Set Reference Name to a value like actcrm-bigquery
   • Set Project ID to a specific Google BigQuery Project ID (or leave as the default, "auto-detect")
   • Set Dataset to a specific Google BigQuery dataset
   • Set Table to the name of the table you wish to insert Act CRM data into

With the Source and Sink configured, you are ready to pipe Act CRM data into Google BigQuery. Save and deploy the pipeline. When you run the pipeline, Google Data Fusion will request live data from Act CRM and import it into Google BigQuery.

While this is a simple pipeline, you can create more complex Act CRM pipelines with transforms, analytics, conditions, and more. Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Act CRM and start working with your live Act CRM data in Google Data Fusion today.